There is no dividing line between church and state, and there are no prisons. Criminals aren't tucked away in prisons to rehabilitate but are "chromed": their skin color is genetically altered to match their crime. Once chromed, they are put back into society, where they are despised. Basically anything can be done to Chromes without repercussion.
Hannah (Hester Prynne) is a Red—a murderer. Her crime is abortion, and that she refused to name the father of her baby makes her crime even worse. It's no spoiler to reveal that her lover is her married pastor, a Joel Osteen-like Arthur Dimmesdale who seduced young Hannah, predictably raised in an ultra-conservative, fundamentalist home.
On a certain level, I found the book fascinating. Jordan is a great writer, so that was a big bonus. But too much happened—and not enough happened. Hannah is sent to a sort of halfway house that's run by some kind of warped headmistress. She meets a cast of Chromes there that I would have loved to see developed more. Ultimately Hannah escapes and heads into the real world.
Things got weird from here on out and moved really fast. Hannah and her friend, a Yellow, hook up with a pro-choice group and are forced into an underground railroad/witness protection type program. Somehow these people are able to intercept the signals that tell where Chromes are. Of course, Hannah has to see Pastor Dale one more time before she goes away to Canada forever.
In many ways I really liked the first part of the book. It was intriguing and the pace was good. But things got rushed midway through, and so much was thrown at the reader that it began to read too much like a let's-cram-as-much-in-as-possible tract. I liked the twist on The Scarlet Letter, and I love dystopian novels in general. I think this one had too much of the author's own bias in it and it felt too preachy. An intriguing concept, though, so I don't not recommend it—it's just not quite my cup of tea. I think it would make a fantastic movie!
